Bluebloods and battlers for McEvoys at Morphettville
Father-son training partnership Tony and Calvin McEvoy will have one runner in each of both of today’s Morphettville features, the TAB Classic (registered as the Robert Sangster Stakes) (Gr 1, 1200m) and the Australasian Oaks (Gr 1, 2000m) – and their backgrounds couldn’t be any more different.
Tough mare Sunlight (Zoustar), a three-time Group 1 winner, steps out in the Sangster for Qatar Bloodstock and their partners in what is likely to be her final preparation before embarking on a stud career, while emerging filly Silent Sovereign (Dalakhani), bred and raced by nonagenarian Don Moyle, will aim for a first top-level success in the Oaks.
Sunlight, who won the Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m), the Silver Slipper Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) and the Magic Night Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) as a juvenile, added all three of her Group 1 wins as a three-year-old – taking the Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m), the Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m) and the William Reid Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).
The four-year-old is the favourite for today’s Sangster, but her main challenge comes from an unexpected quarter – two-year-old Away Game (Snitzel), who is aiming to become the first juvenile to defeat the older horses in an Australian Group 1 since the Pattern was introduced in 1979.
Away Game has raced seven times for four wins in three states, taking the Calaway Gal Stakes (Listed, 1110m), the Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m), the Widden Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) and the Percy Sykes Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m). She also finished fourth after a tough run in the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m), while she was second in the Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).
“I thought Sunlight was the toughest horse racing in Australia until you look at Away Game’s record,” Tony McEvoy said on RSN927 earlier this week. “Wow. She’s extremely tough, she’s been racing since December last year and been travelling the length of Australia. But all that tells me is she can’t be getting better this far into her preparation, and she’s running into Sunlight at the peak of her powers second-up.
“It throws a new dynamic into the race, but it’s going to be a tough job for that two-year-old filly taking on these horses, I would’ve thought.”
To the eye, Sunlight was only fair first-up when finishing a distant second behind Lightning Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) winner Gytrash (Lope De Vega) in the R N Irwin Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m). However, McEvoy has long pointed to the fact that she is a superior horse second-up and he says she has taken great improvement for the three-length fresh defeat.
“She certainly was a bit tubby first-up,” he said. “It was incredible – she had three trials and two ‘away’ gallops and I still couldn’t get her forward enough to win first-up. She has taken that really good improvement between the first and second run – her coat’s brightened up and I can just see a rib there now, so I’m as happy as I can be with her.”
A Sunlight victory would be a popular result, but perhaps the most sentimental victory would come if Silent Sovereign were to take the Australasian Oaks for owner-breeder Donald Moyle.
Moyle, 91, was a latecomer to racing. The former grazier only came into the sport at the age of 80 when he bought into a filly named Silent Surround (Face Value), a Group 3 winner who was also placed twice at Group 2 level.
Two of Silent Surround’s foals have raced: Silent Command (Commands), who won the Morphettville Guineas (Listed, 1600m), and Silent Sovereign.
Silent Sovereign made it to the VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) in the spring, but she has blossomed this autumn, taking the Auraria Stakes (Gr 3, 1800m) stylishly last time out.
“I think she’s pretty good, this filly. We’ve set her for this race, we’ve set her for it third-up,” McEvoy said. “We gave her a beautiful preparation into this race. She was unlucky first-up over a mile and then she was impressive second-up over 1800m in the Auraria.
“Third-up over 2000m looks ideal. Is she good enough? We’ll find out on Saturday. I think she is. But the thing is she’s been set for this race, she’s on her home turf – a lot of these horses have been racing through Sydney, and it hasn’t been their target race. So while their formlines look stronger, our advantage is we’re at home and on the up.
“Donald has such a zest for life. He comes up to the stables every day or two to look at the filly. He loves racing and is still breeding from his mares.”
Silent Sovereign is on the cusp of single figures, with interstate visitor Affair To Remember (Toronado) the overnight favourite.